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Laundry Room murder

3 charged in South Daytona laundry room killing

Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at 8:34 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at 7:50 p.m.

SOUTH DAYTONA — Two cousins have been indicted by a grand jury in the killing of a retired car salesman shot to death in the laundry room of his apartment complex, police said.

The men's grandmother — known by the street moniker “Gangster Granny” — was also arrested in the case, police said, because she lied to investigators when questioned about her grandsons’ connection to the shooting.

Emmanuel Butler, 18, was charged with first-degree murder in the June 2, 2013, killing of Donald Clark, 67, at the Golfview Apartments off of Beville Road.

His cousin Renard Miller, 20, was charged with accessory after the fact capital felony. The pair were already at the Volusia County Branch Jail, being held since August on unrelated charges, when they were indicted and charged Monday, police said. They are now held without bail.

Their grandmother Patricia Horton, 58, was charged with perjury after she refused to tell police what she knew about the suspects’ involvement in the shooting, Lt. Dan Dietrich said. She was arrested on Nov. 21, but is out on bail.

Butler and Miller lived with Horton at a house on State Street in Holly Hill. State records show Butler’s mother Ebony Butler, 36, is in prison for manslaughter for killing a man in Leon County in 2008.

An aunt of Butler’s and Miller’s, who was at Horton’s residence Tuesday morning, said she supports the two men, regardless of the accusations. Horton was not at the house.

For the past several months, investigators have been frustrated by the case because they had identified the suspect, said South Daytona Police Chief Ron Wright. But because no one would confess and there was scant information on the street, it took almost a year before the suspect could actually be charged with Clark’s killing.

Even though a $15,000 reward had been offered for any information leading to a suspect there were never any takers, Wright said, adding that “nobody wanted to snitch.”

The murder, investigators said, was sparked by Butler’s desire to steal a car.

“Butler is the one who killed Donald Clark,” said Detective Zack Pickett at a press conference Tuesday at South Daytona police headquarters. “They just wanted his car.”

Dietrich also said the suspects are “documented gang members” who belonged to the 819 Boyz, a Daytona Beach street gang largely dismantled by Daytona Beach police and federal investigators in 2010. The gang’s name comes from a former apartment building at 819 South St. in Daytona Beach where criminal activity was rampant.

“They drove the car for a short time,” Dietrich said. “These are the guys who go around breaking into cars.”

The day of the shooting, the suspects were likely looking to vandalize vehicles in the parking lot of the apartment complex where Clark lived on Northern Road, Wright said. Clark was spotted getting out of his pearl-white Mitsubishi Gallant and the suspects probably thought, “Let’s just steal a car instead,” the chief said.

The victim was found at 6 a.m. June 2, 2013, by another tenant in the laundry room of his building. Clark’s car was found three days later in the parking lot of another apartment building on Palmetto Avenue in Daytona Beach. The car had been dumped there the same day of the shooting, but was hidden and discovered by a resident of that building, police said at the time.

The other mystery linked to the case was an expensive men’s bicycle found leaning against a wall of Clark’s apartment building. Detectives questioned residents and no one claimed the bike. After a while, police received a tip from a friend of Butler’s who said the bicycle was his and he had lent it to the murder suspect, Wright said.

The chief called the arrests a “big day for South Daytona.”

“The suspect was 17 years old when he committed this murder and he’s a stone-cold killer,” Wright said. “And that’s a tragedy.”

<p><span class="Dateline">SOUTH DAYTONA —</span> Two cousins have been indicted by a grand jury in the killing of a retired car salesman shot to death in the laundry room of his apartment complex, police said.</p><p>The men's grandmother — known by the street moniker “Gangster Granny” — was also arrested in the case, police said, because she lied to investigators when questioned about her grandsons' connection to the shooting.</p><p>Emmanuel Butler, 18, was charged with first-degree murder in the June 2, 2013, killing of Donald Clark, 67, at the Golfview Apartments off of Beville Road.</p><p>His cousin Renard Miller, 20, was charged with accessory after the fact capital felony. The pair were already at the Volusia County Branch Jail, being held since August on unrelated charges, when they were indicted and charged Monday, police said. They are now held without bail.</p><p>Their grandmother Patricia Horton, 58, was charged with perjury after she refused to tell police what she knew about the suspects' involvement in the shooting, Lt. Dan Dietrich said. She was arrested on Nov. 21, but is out on bail.</p><p>Butler and Miller lived with Horton at a house on State Street in Holly Hill. State records show Butler's mother Ebony Butler, 36, is in prison for manslaughter for killing a man in Leon County in 2008. </p><p>An aunt of Butler's and Miller's, who was at Horton's residence Tuesday morning, said she supports the two men, regardless of the accusations. Horton was not at the house.</p><p>For the past several months, investigators have been frustrated by the case because they had identified the suspect, said South Daytona Police Chief Ron Wright. But because no one would confess and there was scant information on the street, it took almost a year before the suspect could actually be charged with Clark's killing. </p><p>Even though a $15,000 reward had been offered for any information leading to a suspect there were never any takers, Wright said, adding that “nobody wanted to snitch.”</p><p>The murder, investigators said, was sparked by Butler's desire to steal a car.</p><p>“Butler is the one who killed Donald Clark,” said Detective Zack Pickett at a press conference Tuesday at South Daytona police headquarters. “They just wanted his car.”</p><p>Dietrich also said the suspects are “documented gang members” who belonged to the 819 Boyz, a Daytona Beach street gang largely dismantled by Daytona Beach police and federal investigators in 2010. The gang's name comes from a former apartment building at 819 South St. in Daytona Beach where criminal activity was rampant.</p><p>“They drove the car for a short time,” Dietrich said. “These are the guys who go around breaking into cars.”</p><p>The day of the shooting, the suspects were likely looking to vandalize vehicles in the parking lot of the apartment complex where Clark lived on Northern Road, Wright said. Clark was spotted getting out of his pearl-white Mitsubishi Gallant and the suspects probably thought, “Let's just steal a car instead,” the chief said.</p><p>The victim was found at 6 a.m. June 2, 2013, by another tenant in the laundry room of his building. Clark's car was found three days later in the parking lot of another apartment building on Palmetto Avenue in Daytona Beach. The car had been dumped there the same day of the shooting, but was hidden and discovered by a resident of that building, police said at the time.</p><p>The other mystery linked to the case was an expensive men's bicycle found leaning against a wall of Clark's apartment building. Detectives questioned residents and no one claimed the bike. After a while, police received a tip from a friend of Butler's who said the bicycle was his and he had lent it to the murder suspect, Wright said.</p><p>The chief called the arrests a “big day for South Daytona.”</p><p>“The suspect was 17 years old when he committed this murder and he's a stone-cold killer,” Wright said. “And that's a tragedy.”</p><br><br><br>